Chamber Conference message: We can have it all if we have the vision

Walking down the corridor with Kim Williams of Marpan after the closing bell of the 2013 Tallahassee Chamber Community Conference, one of us voiced it: You know, it really does feel like the community is starting to come together.
Florida State President Eric Barron was the first to talk about that during the conference, using FSU, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College as examples. Barron, interim President Larry Robinson and President Jim Murdaugh, who will soon take over as chairman of the Economic Development Council, have been finding ways to better work together.
They, in turn, are finding ways to work more closely as a group with the city of Tallahassee and Leon County as well as with business and community leaders.

On Sunday morning, before the sun came up, I got 23 Chamber attendees out of bed and on a 2.5 mile walk for Move.Tallahassee.com. Proof we are on the Move in Tallahassee

The city and county, in turn, are finding ways to work more closely, and the more-than-just-symbolism of County Administrator Vince Long and City Manager Anita Favors Thompson appearing on stage together to speak of a shared vision for the future of our community should be lost on no one.
That is, the vision of what can happen with the money, some $726 million, should the sales tax extension be passed.
To use one of my favorite clichés, everyone appears to be trying – at least – to row in the same direction.
That is good news.
What is better news is that they seem to be taking the Imagine Tallahassee process seriously, which means the inner-circle people and groups above are truly listening to what the greater community has to say.
The proof will be in the pudding – another good cliché – when we start measuring outcomes of the process against what went into the mix.
Up to 15 percent of that money could be set aside for economic development. That is what the Imagine process is all about, what Dale Brill of Thinkspot Inc. called creating “a consensus of an intentional tomorrow.”
The process makes staying on the sidelines and throwing rocks at the people in the game even harder to justify.
There have already been dozens of meetings involving hundreds of citizens attempting to line up the community’s priorities for what we want Tallahassee to be 25 years and forever from now.
Let me say that again: Hundreds of people have already given their views on the community’s priorities on a wide variety of economic development choices, including creating a healthier community, a session that I attended.
More opportunities are coming up, and we’ll keep you informed and involved.
But Brill – one of the last speakers of the conference – might have offered the best advice moving forward.

We can have it all, Tallahassee. You can walk and get a Move T-shirt for your effort, for example.

Let’s not give into false dichotomies that some in our community seem to offer.
We can have stronger health care and improve health outcomes while still building a stronger economy. We can combat tragic infant mortality rates, fight obesity and diabetes, reduce heart disease and so on while creating jobs that make sense for our community.
There is no reason we have to hurt the environment while attracting new businesses.
We do not have to make a choice of improving our schools or helping local businesses grow.
And so on.
The lesson and message from this year’s conference is that we are free to build whatever future we have the imagination and creativity to envision. All the pieces seem to be lining up to turn that vision into reality, a reality that will shape the future for our children and generations to come.You can send comments by clicking on my blogs on Tallahassee.com and Move.Tallahassee.com , e-mailing me at bgabordi@tallahassee.com or sending a private message on Facebook, Tallahassee.com or Twitter @bgabordi. My mailing address is Bob Gabordi, Executive Editor, Tallahassee Democrat, P.O. Box 990, Tallahassee, FL 32302. Call me at 850-599-2177.

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You can send comments by clicking on Bob Gabordi’s blog on Tallahassee.com or Move.Tallahassee.com, e-mailing him at bgabordi@tallahassee.com, sending a private message on Tallahassee.com and Twitter @bgabordi. You can also find links to his blogs on Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. His mailing address is Bob Gabordi, Executive Editor, Tallahassee Democrat, P.O. Box 990, Tallahassee, FL 32302. His telephone number is 850-599-2177.